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Woman Gets $170,000 Settlement for Delayed Treatment Resulting in Toe Amputation

Case Overview
  • As a result of the delayed treatment, our client suffers from ongoing pain and reduced mobility.
  • GMP received a supportive opinion from experts that the hospital failed to investigate her infection and had delayed treatment.
  • Our client received settlement monies in the sum of $170,000.

When a health issue is diagnosed, it is reasonable to expect that health providers will thoroughly investigate and treat the presenting condition with reference to a patient’s health history.

In November 2018, our client attended hospital and was diagnosed with a diabetic foot ulcer on her left third toe. A swab tested positive for heavy growth of staphylococcus aureus. However, no further investigations were conducted at the time and our client was only referred for wound management. Our client proceeded to attend the wound clinic for weekly wound dressings over several months.

Despite no significant improvement in her foot ulcer, our client did not receive any medical review. Our client began to experience problems mobilising and in June 2019 again presented to the hospital. As such, proper treatment for the cause of the infection was not rendered for some time.

“Further investigations identified the presence of staph organisms for which she was then treated for, although hospital records indicated that the source of the infection was not identified for a number of days.”


Our Approach

An x-ray was finally performed a few days after admission which revealed a bone infection. Following further investigations, our client was diagnosed with osteomyelitis caused by the infected toe. She was reviewed by the orthopaedics team and was required to undergo amputation of her toe.

Our client now suffers from ongoing pain, reduced mobility, and has suffered psychological sequalae from the incident. As a result of the delayed treatment, she also suffered from osteomyelitis of the spine, although we are pleased to advise that she has since recovered from this condition following 6 months of antibiotic therapy.

GMP received supportive opinion from experts that the hospital failed to adequately review our client initially following evidence of heavy growth of staphylococcus aureus around the foot. Furthermore, once it became clear that the wound was not healing properly and our client reported worsening symptoms, the possibility of a wound infection should have been taken more seriously. We also received supportive views that the hospital failed to properly investigate the source of her infection, further delaying proper treatment. 

At Gerard Malouf & Partners, we will fight a claim if we believe that significant negligence occurred. Call us now on 1800 004 878 to speak to one of our experienced medical negligence lawyers.

The Result

Our client agreed to settlement monies in the sum of $170,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that another in the same position would prudently exercise. The harm caused by negligence is considered to be due to carelessness, rather than a specific intent or determination to cause harm.

While negligence can include misconduct in a variety of circumstances, malpractice is reserved for professionals who fall grossly short of their obligations — and harm others in the process. As a result, malpractice is often called “professional negligence”. If a licensed professional (such as a doctor, lawyer, or accountant) fails to provide the accepted standard of care and subsequently causes harm to the plaintiff, this form of negligence may be known as malpractice.

Medical malpractice is specifically used in reference to medical workers who have committed acts of negligence.

Demonstrating that a doctor fell short of their duty of care can be a challenging process. While most doctors try their best to correctly diagnose conditions and provide timely medical treatment, they can’t always be right. In every state, protections are in place to shield practitioners from some litigation. These give practitioners peace of mind on the job and protect hospitals that are doing their best with limited resources. However, these laws also set the bar for receiving compensation incredibly high.

Overall, to win a favorable judgment, you must be able to prove Duty, Breach and Damages.

If you have been injured or an existing condition has got worse following a medical procedure, or even just a visit to the doctor, then you may have been the victim of medical negligence and you may be eligible to make medical negligence claims against the professional who caused your injury.

If you can first show that you have suffered harm, and secondly, that a medical professional failed in their duty of care towards you then you may be entitled to compensation.

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Gerard Malouf & Partners have provided friendly, experienced legal advice to communities across Australia for over 35 years. Our Personal Injury Lawyers have taken on ten’s of thousands of cases and we are proud to have won billions of dollars for our clients.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.
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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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